Scottish Executive

Air Services

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much direct or indirect financial support has been given to Continental Airlines to operate a service between Glasgow Airport and Newark, USA and whether any such money will be repayable in the event of the service being discontinued.

Sarah Boyack: Scottish Enterprise assisted Continental Airlines during its first year of operation in 1998 on the Newark-Glasgow route with marketing support. This support, which is commercially confidential under the terms of the contract, would not be repayable if the service should discontinue now.

Conservation

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will specify any areas where inadequate legislation has been identified under EC directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora; whether it will detail any representations made by the European Commission to Her Majesty’s Government on this matter; what the implications are for Scotland of any such representations; what action it plans to take to ensure compliance with the directive, and what its timetable is for any such action.

Rhona Brankin: The United Kingdom Government has received a Reasoned Opinion from the European Commission, alleging shortcomings in the regulations which implement the Habitats Directive in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar. The UK Government is currently considering with the devolved administrations what response should be made to the Reasoned Opinion.

  The details of legal proceedings between the Commission and member states are confidential.

Crofting

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many crofters, and what percentage of their total number, have purchased or own their own crofts; how many crofters have purchased their crofts from the state or public sector since the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 came into force, either directly or through crofters’ trusts, and what percentage the land so acquired has been of the total area of crofters’ land held by the state or public sector.

Ross Finnie: 3,534 crofts are owned by crofters, representing 20% of all crofts.

  A total of 45 crofters have purchased their crofts directly from Scottish ministers since the enactment of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993. The land so acquired represented some 3% of the croft land in the ownership of Scottish ministers.

Enterprise

Alex Johnstone (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will give its official response to the aid package proposals for the Arbroath area submitted in January 2001 by Angus Council and other groups.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The First Minister responded to Angus Council and partners concerning the Arbroath Aid Package proposals in his letter of 11 May 2001. In addition I myself wrote to the council and to Scottish Enterprise Tayside about the Arbroath Aid Package proposals on 13 June 2001.

Environment

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take in respect of public safety, health and the environment in light of the recommendations on the disposal of toxic sludge containing carbon-14 in The Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee’s Advice to Ministers on the Ministry of Defence’s Radioactive Waste Management and Practices .

Rhona Brankin: The relevant recommendations in the report published by the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee (RWMAC) make it clear that the responsibility for reviewing waste characterisation and management arrangements rests with the Ministry of Defence.

  Before the waste can be disposed, the site operators will have to satisfy the Scottish Environment Protection Agency that the waste has been properly characterised, that the levels of radioactivity associated with the waste are accurately quantified and that these levels do not exceed the site’s authorised limits for the disposal route used.

Environment

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take in respect of public safety, health and the environment in light of the recommendations on the arrangements for the transportation of irradiated uranium fuel from Rosyth to Sellafield in The Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee’s Advice to Ministers on the Ministry of Defence’s Radioactive Waste Management and Practices .

Rhona Brankin: The report published by the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee makes clear that the transport of spent fuel is an issue for the Ministry of Defence to consider.

  The regulation of the transport of radioactive material (including waste) is a reserved matter for the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. The regulations are designed to ensure that the transport of radioactive material is carried out in such a manner as to safeguard public safety, health and the environment.

Environment

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in respect of which sites and locations it has received advice from the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee since May 1999.

Rhona Brankin: The Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee (RWMAC) has issued a number of reports on a wide range of radioactive waste management issues containing advice to ministers. These can be found at:

  www.defra.gov.uk/rwmac/reports.htm

  In addition, RWMAC responds to consultations carried out by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency on proposals by operators for the disposal of radioactive waste from nuclear licensed sites. The Scottish Executive is made aware of RWMAC’s views in such cases.

Environment

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has received from the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee on the Rosyth and Dalgety Bay areas.

Rhona Brankin: The Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee (RWMAC) submits advice to ministers on a wide range of radioactive waste management issues. The formal reports containing such advice can be found at:

  www.defra.gov.uk/rwmac/reports.htm

  The recently published RWMAC Report on Ministry of Defence Radioactive Waste Practices contains RWMAC’s comments on a number of sites including Rosyth.

  Scottish ministers have received no advice from RWMAC about Dalgety Bay.

Environment

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures were used by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to appoint the Dounreay Particles Advisory Group and whether the Nolan Committee principles relevant to such appointments were applied.

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of all the organisations from whom the members of the Dounreay Particles Advisory Group receive an income and the incomes that they receive.

Rhona Brankin: This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The information is not held centrally.

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of infringement of fisheries regulations the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency referred to the Procurator Fiscal in each of the last five years for which figures are available and how many of the cases referred in each year resulted in prosecutions, broken down by court in each case.

Rhona Brankin: The table refers to the financial years 1996-97 until 2000-01 inclusive, and lists the number of cases sent to the Procurator Fiscal Service by the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency.

  


1996-97 
  

117 
  



1997-98 
  

117 
  



1998-99 
  

93 
  



1999-2000 
  

69 
  



2000-01 
  

74 
  



  The following table shows the number of these cases which resulted in a prosecution and the sheriff court at which they were heard. Not all cases were dealt with in the same financial year in which they were referred to the Procurator Fiscal.

  


Court 
  

Year Referred 
  



 


1996-97 
  

1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  



Arbroath 
  

 


 


2 
  

 


 




Ayr 
  

1 
  

 


1 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Banff 
  

60 
  

50 
  

44 
  

38 
  

30 
  



Campbeltown 
  

1 
  

4 
  

4 
  

1 
  

2 
  



Cupar 
  

1 
  

2 
  

 


1 
  

1 
  



Dingwall 
  

2 
  

 


 


1 
  

 




Dornoch 
  

3 
  

2 
  

 


 


 




Fort William 
  

2 
  
 
 

1 
  

2 
  



Kilmarnock 
  

2 
  

2 
  

 


 


2 
  



Kirkwall 
  

1 
  

1 
  

3 
  

 


 




Lerwick 
  

16 
  

25 
  

21 
  

13 
  

11 
  



Lochmaddy 
  

 


 


 


 


1 
  



Oban 
  

 


 


 


1 
  

1 
  



Peterhead 
  

1 
  

 


 


 


 




Portree 
  

 


 


 


 


1 
  



Stornoway 
  

3 
  

5 
  

1 
  

 


1 
  



Stranraer 
  

2 
  

2 
  

1 
  

 


 




Tain 
  

 


 


 


 


1 
  



Wick 
  

3 
  

10 
  

4 
  

1 
  

7 
  



  Seven cases from this period, on which a decision on whether or not to proceed to prosecution, remain in the hands of the Procurator Fiscal Service.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15199 by Ross Finnie on 18 June 2001, what the current status is of the Dumfries and Galloway economic recovery plan.

Ross Finnie: A working group comprised of officials from the local council and agencies as well as the Scottish Executive has met on several occasions to provide strategic co-ordination of the recovery plan. The announcements of extra Scottish Executive resources to alleviate hardship and assist recovery were influenced by these discussions. The group will continue to take stock of the progress in each of the main areas of the plan.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with ministers from the National Assembly for Wales on how best to support rural areas to recover from outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease.

Ross Finnie: There have been a number of discussions with ministers from the National Assembly for Wales about foot-and-mouth disease recovery. These include my regular meetings with the three UK Agriculture Ministers, which have recently focused on various aspects of foot-and-mouth disease, including recovery measures. The Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Mr Alasdair Morrison, also hosted a meeting of UK Tourism Ministers in April, at which the main item for discussion was the impact of foot-and-mouth disease on the tourism industry, and the recovery measures which would be put in place, particularly those planned by the British Tourist Authority. In addition to these meetings, Executive officials have been keeping in regular contact with officials from the National Assembly for Wales on foot-and-mouth disease recovery issues.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the funding allocated to VisitScotland prior to 2 August 2001 in connection with the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak has had to date on (a) the number of tourists visiting and (b) the level of tourist spending in (i) Dumfries and Galloway and (ii) Scotland, compared in particular with the number of visitors and level of spending anticipated had this funding not been made available.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: The Executive is working with VisitScotland to monitor the effectiveness of the actions put in place to assist the tourism industry to recover from the effects of foot-and-mouth disease. It is not, however, possible at this time to make the assessment requested and Mr Mundell will appreciate that tourist demand is affected by a number of factors. Much of the funding provided prior to 2 August was also used to alleviate immediate hardship.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was warned of a possible outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease before the first outbreak in the UK and, if so, when, by whom, and what reason was given for such a warning.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive had no warning or expectation of a possible outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease before the first outbreak in the UK.

General Practitioners

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it gives to general practitioners regarding the prescription of potassium supplements to elderly people taking diuretics on a long-term basis.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive Health Department has not issued formal guidance to general practitioners regarding prescription of potassium supplements to elderly people taking diuretics on a long-term basis as this is essentially a clinical decision dependent on the specific diagnosis, the clinical condition of the patient, concurrent treatment or drug therapies and the clinical assessment of the patient by their general practitioner.

  General advice on the long-term use of potassium supplements for elderly people taking diuretics on a long-term basis, is provided by a number of authoritative bodies including the British National Formulary (BNF); Scottish Medicines Resource Centre (SMRC); the Audit Commission Report entitled Supporting Prescribing in General Practice, and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) publication Number 35 on Diagnosis and Treatment of Heart Failure due to Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction and 49 on Treatment of Hypertension in Older People.

Government Services

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which of its departments and agencies and which Scottish public bodies do not have services available online; why no services are available online in each case, and when any such bodies will make their services available online.

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a complete list of the devolved government services planned to be delivered online by the end of (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003.

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether 75% of all devolved government services will be available online by 2002.

Angus MacKay: Provision of information is the biggest service provided by Government in Scotland. All executive departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies in Scotland make information available online. Other services are being developed. We are finalising a table detailing the current position and will place copies of this in the Parliament’s reference centre as soon as it is available.

Government Services

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the government portal for Scotland referred to in paragraph 4.5 of Information Age Government in Scotland – A draft common framework will be established.

Angus MacKay: The Scottish Executive is fully involved with UK Online, (which is widely regarded as a great success, now getting more than a million hits a week). Considerable effort continues to go into the development of Life Episodes with distinct Scottish content, within the UK Online Portal. A separate Scottish portal remains under active consideration, and it will be launched when appropriate.

Government Services

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the government portal for Scotland referred to in paragraph 4.5 of Information Age Government in Scotland – A draft common framework has not been delivered in the same timespan as UK Online.

Angus MacKay: The UK Online Portal contains services and information of both Scottish and of general UK application. A separate Scottish portal remains under active consideration and will be launched when appropriate. Its development has to be complementary to the main UK Online site to deliver added value and avoid unnecessary cost.

Government Services

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the maturity of each of the websites offering devolved government services online and who is responsible for developing these sites.

Angus MacKay: I refer you to the answer to question S1W-17320. The Executive has set down mandatory standards for public service sites, and provides assistance and guidance, although responsibility for the detailed content and development of each site rests with the relevant body.

Government Services

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the websites offering devolved government services online utilise customer relationship management systems.

Angus MacKay: The Students Awards Agency for Scotland is the only body within the Scottish Administration that currently utilises customer relationship management systems in delivering its online services. The agency has recently introduced facilities to allow students to track the progress of their application via its website. A basic support calculator and the ability to request duplicate award letters have also been introduced on the site. The agency is planning to introduce other web services in line with the Modernising Government initiative, including online applications, over the next 18 months.

Government Services

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received from each local authority an action plan as referred to in paragraph 12.7 of Information Age Government in Scotland – A draft common framework ; if not, which authorities have not yet submitted plans, and when it expects to receive a plan from each such authority.

Angus MacKay: The responsibility for co-ordination and receipt of the local authority action plans rests with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA). Councils began to publish their plans (or drafts of their plans) in March 2001. To date 17 of the 29 COSLA councils has submitted a plan. COSLA will monitor councils’ progress and details of the plans will be available on the COSLA website.

Government Services

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the local authority action plans referred to in paragraph 12.7 of Information Age Government in Scotland – A draft common framework .

Angus MacKay: The responsibility for publishing the local authority action plans rests with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA). COSLA does plan to publish the Action Plans on its website. Summary information will be provided on the Executive’s 21 st Century Government website, which includes a link to the COSLA website.

Government Services

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce public kiosks giving access to online government services and what the timescale is in respect of any such plans.

Angus MacKay: The Scottish Executive is fully committed to enhancing the broadest possible access to government services through a wide variety of media channels including iDTV, internet and WAP. Public kiosks form part of this process and to this end the Executive, through the Modernising Government Fund, has provided funding to Dumfries and Galloway Council to undertake a pilot project centred around public access standalone kiosks. The Scottish Executive continues to monitor the introduction of public kiosks by local authorities in Scotland and their introduction and use within the UK as a whole.

Government Services

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which private companies have advised it on its e-government strategy in the last two years and what contracts have been awarded for the implementation of e-government initiatives during this period.

Angus MacKay: The Scottish Executive put its e-government strategy, Information Age Government in Scotland: A draft common framework , out to public consultation in order to elicit comments from the widest possible range of organisations and individuals; indeed the draft framework was widely praised in responses to that consultation. A number of contracts have been awarded by participants in e-government initiatives, and a number of these initiatives and projects have been supported by the Executive through the Modernising Government Fund. The Executive has also engaged in discussion of a range of modernising government issues with representatives of a number of private sector companies as well as public sector bodies.

Government Services

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what contracts for the implementation of future e-government initiatives are under consideration and when an announcement will be made on the tendering process to be used in each case.

Angus MacKay: There are no contracts under consideration for possible future e-government initiatives.

  All Scottish Executive contract awards are conducted in a fair and even-handed manner and in accordance with any legal requirements, including European Community rules. In each case, the most appropriate tendering process is used. Contracts in connection with present or future e-government initiatives are no exception to these arrangements.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit is of the Public Health Institute for Scotland and what its annual funding is.

Susan Deacon: The Public Health Institute of Scotland’s remit is:

  "to protect and improve the health of the people of Scotland by working with relevant agencies and organisations to increase our understanding of the determinants of health and ill health, help to formulate public health policy, and increase the effectiveness of the public health endeavour".

  In July last year I announced the establishment of the institute with Health Improvement Fund monies of £1 million a year.

  Further information about the work of the institute can be obtained from its website at www.show.scot.nhs.uk/phis

Health Technology Board for Scotland

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many health technology assessments the Health Technology Board for Scotland has completed since 1 April 2000.

Susan Deacon: The Health Technology Board for Scotland has not yet completed a health technology assessment. It announced its first three assessment topics in January 2001 after wide consultation. Each assessment will take about one year to complete due to the large amount of evidence considered and the board’s open and inclusive consultation process.

Health Technology Board for Scotland

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pieces of authoritative comment on National Institute for Clinical Excellence technology appraisal guidance the Health Technology Board for Scotland has published since 1 April 2000.

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pieces of authoritative comment on National Institute for Clinical Excellence technology appraisal guidance the Health Technology Board for Scotland is currently preparing for publication.

Susan Deacon: Since May 2001, The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has released technology appraisal guidance on four topics. The Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) has published a comment on one of these topics and will deliver the other three, currently in preparation, on schedule.

  HTBS has also provided a one-off retrospective comment on the NICE Guidance on treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

Health Technology Board for Scotland

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Health Technology Board for Scotland technology assessments are currently on-going.

Susan Deacon: The Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) is currently conducting three Health Technology Assessments. These are in the areas of organisation of services for diabetic retinopathy screening, PET imaging for cancer management and prevention of relapse in alcohol dependence.

Health Technology Board for Scotland

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit is of the Health Technology Board for Scotland, who its members are and what its annual funding is.

Susan Deacon: Full details of the Health Technology Board for Scotland’s (HTBS) remit and membership can be found on the HTBS website at www.htbs.org.uk.

  Its budget for 2001-02 is £2 million.

Hepatitis

Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it proposes to take now it has had time to consider the judgment of the English High Court in the case brought under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 involving blood contaminated with the hepatitis C virus.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive has instructed NHSScotland to enter into discussions with the legal representatives of any person who has raised an action of the same kind as the decision in the English High Court. These would be actions under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 where people have been infected with hepatitis C as a result of receiving blood from the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service after 1 March 1988.

  These discussions will be with a view to reaching a settlement of those actions which are legally competent and where the relevant facts can be proved.

Hospitals

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to protect cancer patients from hospital-acquired infections.

Susan Deacon: Current infection control measures, plus the further steps announced on 6 August to establish standards and check compliance with them, will help protect cancer patients along with all NHS patients in Scotland. The measures I announced include a mandatory surveillance system to monitor key infections at local and national level, together with funding to increase the number of infection control nurses being trained.

Hospitals

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all previously issued guidelines on infection control in hospitals have been fully implemented in the NHS.

Susan Deacon: NHS trusts must ensure that they have adequate infection control arrangements in place, based on comprehensive guidance provided by the Health Department. I have recently outlined steps to establish new standards for infection control and compliance checking arrangements, to be overseen by the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland.

Hospitals

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is monitoring the implementation of infection control teams in the NHS and, if so, when it will publish a report of its findings.

Susan Deacon: NHSScotland has infection control teams in place in all health board areas – I refer to the answer to question S1W-15462 on 14 May 2001.

Hospitals

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time equivalent infection control nurses there are per bed in each NHS hospital.

Susan Deacon: The information is not held centrally.

Hospitals

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a clear and unambiguous definition of hospital-acquired infection for use by all NHS trusts is now in place.

Susan Deacon: The recent report A framework for national surveillance of hospital acquired infection sets out the details of the new system to collect standardised, comparable data on the incidence of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in Scotland. The report, which has been disseminated to NHSScotland, provides a standard definition of HAI which will form the basis for collection of data in the new national system.

  The report is available at www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd. A copy has been placed in the Parliament’s reference centre.

Information Technology

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the set of actions devised as a result of the study commissioned to map present and planned facilities providing public access to the internet referred to in paragraph 4.8 of Information Age Government in Scotland – A draft common framework .

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Executive will publish a digital inclusion strategy in the autumn and the actions detailed there will be informed by the work to map the locations of all facilities providing public access to the internet in Scotland.

Information Technology

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific proposals it has to improve public access to the internet.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Executive will launch a digital inclusion strategy in the autumn which will set out the Executive’s approach to tacking the digital divide.

Information Technology

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the study commissioned to map present and planned facilities providing public access to the internet referred to in paragraph 4.8 of Information Age Government in Scotland – A draft common framework has been completed and, if so, whether it will publish the study’s findings.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Since the study was received work has been undertaken to enhance the information to prepare it for use by the public. As a part of a digital inclusion strategy the Executive will publish within the next two months the locations of all facilities providing public access to the internet in Scotland.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-16943 by Mr Jim Wallace on 8 August 2001, what measures it has taken to ensure, without causing unnecessary alarm, that groups known to be at risk from Gordon Johnstone, particularly the vulnerable elderly, are aware that he has not been recaptured since he absconded in July 2001 and that he should not be approached.

Mr Jim Wallace: Lothian and Borders Police have the lead responsibility for the recapture of Gordon Johnstone. We understand that the main approach used to inform the public has been through the media. Extensive information has been provided, highlighting the groups that might be at particular risk, including the elderly, coupled with warnings not to approach him.

NHS Staff

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to address any national shortage of consultant radiologists.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many radiology posts at all levels are currently vacant.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how any national shortage of radiologists is affecting the relevant waiting times and waiting lists.

Susan Deacon: The number of higher specialist training posts available in Scotland is regularly adjusted to meet the projected number of new consultants needed to meet known and anticipated turnover and local service developments. In March 2001 the specialist registrar establishment for radiology was increased from 76 to 88, meaning that the total number of specialist training posts in radiology has risen by almost 16% in the last year.

  We will consider whether further posts should be part of the targeted increase of 375 junior doctors for future years which I announced on 2 April 2001. As I announced on 20 June, Professor John Temple is chairing the fundamental review of workforce planning which was a commitment in Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change. This review will consider the many complex areas surrounding the supply of trained doctors to NHSScotland.

  Information from ISD Scotland for 30 of September 2000, which is the latest available, indicates that there were 16 consultant vacancies and no staff grade vacancies in the specialty of radiology, a reduction from 18 vacancies in the previous year. Vacancy data is collected for consultant and staff grades only. Information on waiting lists and waiting times for radiology is not currently available centrally, but we are testing how such information might be collected.

Scottish Executive Departments

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its press release SE1865/2001 of 10 August 2001, whether it plans to transfer all of the staff from its Environment and Rural Affairs Department offices in Stirling to the new office in Perth.

Ross Finnie: Other than those transferring to other offices for reasons unrelated to this rationalisation, all existing staff in the Stirling office will be given the opportunity to transfer to the new office in Perth.

Scottish Executive Departments

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its press release SE1865/2001 of 10 August 2001, what the financial benefits will be of the closure of its Environment and Rural Affairs Department offices in Stirling.

Ross Finnie: A number of options were considered and closing the Stirling, Dundee and Forfar offices and centralising functions in a new building at Perth was the most attractive. As well as being most efficient from an operational point of view, it will save around £100,000 in annual running costs, compared to not closing the Stirling office.

Social Inclusion

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of administering the Active Communities Initiative was in 2000-01 and what the estimated cost is for 2001-02.

Jackie Baillie: The Active Communities Initiative is a UK initiative. Resources made available under the initiative are used to provide grants to voluntary organisations to promote volunteering and community involvement. The Scottish Executive invested £650,000 in the initiative in 2000-01 and £1.65 million will be spent in 2001-02.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget is for the marketing in Ireland of Scotland as a holiday destination for summer, autumn and winter 2001.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: This is an operational matter for VisitScotland. The information is not held centrally.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources will be made available to market Scotland in Ireland as a holiday destination in view of increased flights and reduced fares between them.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: The funding available to VisitScotland has been almost doubled since February 2000. It is for VisitScotland to decide its marketing priorities.

Voluntary Sector

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding each Local Volunteer Development Agency received under the Active Communities Initiative in 2000-01; how much each has received to date in this financial year, and how much each will receive in 2002-03.

Jackie Baillie: Local Volunteer Development Agencies (LDVAs) were not funded under the Active Communities Initiative in 2000-01. I announced in June that £300,000 would be made available in 2001-02 to engage the national network of LVDAs in delivering the Active Communities Initiative at local level across Scotland. I anticipate that each LVDA will receive some £10,000. Active Communities Initiative funding for the network will increase to £1 million in 2002-03, with each LVDA receiving some £30,000. These sums are in addition to the £31,500 that each LVDA already receives annually.

Waste Management

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive,  further to the answer to question S1W-4122 by Sarah Boyack on 7 June 2000, whether it approved the sealing of an unauthorised outlet which has already discharged sewage into Kilbarchan Burn as authorised by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, given the possible risk when the screening device is blocked of sewage discharging through manhole covers, and what steps it will take to remedy such a situation.

Rhona Brankin: This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.